{"id":2415,"date":"2020-12-15T22:15:55","date_gmt":"2020-12-15T22:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiofree.org\/?p=139744"},"modified":"2020-12-15T22:15:55","modified_gmt":"2020-12-15T22:15:55","slug":"u-s-fish-and-wildlife-service-punts-on-decision-to-list-monarch-butterflies-under-the-endangered-species-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2020\/12\/15\/u-s-fish-and-wildlife-service-punts-on-decision-to-list-monarch-butterflies-under-the-endangered-species-act\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Punts on Decision To List Monarch Butterflies Under the Endangered Species Act"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WASHINGTON – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service <\/span>released findings<\/a> Tuesday that the monarch butterfly is eligible for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Nevertheless, the agency stated that the butterfly\u2019s listing is impeded by higher-priority considerations at this time. The monarch\u2019s status will be reviewed annually until listing is granted or further action is deemed unnecessary.<\/p>\n

In 2014, the agency received a petition to list the butterfly, which led to a scientific review. The study found that habitat loss, climate change and pesticide exposure were top threats to the species. In addition, these dangers also impact milkweed, the sole food source of monarch caterpillars. <\/span><\/p>\n

Along with those concerns, this decision comes after <\/span>record lows<\/a> in the western monarch\u2019s population totals, which have dropped to an estimate of below 2,000 this year. The butterflies were once abundant with a western population of 1.2 million in 1997. <\/p>\n

Environment America Conservation Director Steve Blackledge issued the following statement:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know whether to grieve, cheer or boo. It\u2019s horrifying that the monarch\u2019s population has fallen so low; it\u2019s great to hear that the Fish and Wildlife Service, after conducting an <\/span>\u2018intensive, thorough review,\u2019 agrees that the monarch deserves new protections. And it\u2019s absurd that the agency is punting on any sort of plan to protect this important species.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis trying year has reminded us just how much we need beauty in our world. We never want to see the day when the majestic and colorful monarch butterfly no longer floats on the breeze. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201dWe urge the incoming Biden administration to fix this situation. The monarch needs and deserves the full and immediate protection of the Endangered Species Act, which remains America\u2019s best tool to stop extinction.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n

This post was originally published on Radio Free<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON \u2013 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service\u00a0released findings\u00a0Tuesday that the monarch butterfly is eligible for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Nevertheless, the agency stated that the\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2415"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2415"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2415\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2416,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2415\/revisions\/2416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}